Is Your Church Website Costing You Christmas Eve Visitors?

Before Christmas Eve, make sure a newcomer can find your service time, know what to expect, and feel invited in under 30 seconds. Put Christmas Eve on your homepage, build one simple Christmas page, pin one shareable post, and send one warm email.

Picture this with me: it's the week before Christmas. You've finally got ten quiet minutes and something warm to drink. You open your church website to check one tiny thing, and right there at the top it says, Join us this Easter.

And you get that little stomach drop: oh no. How long has that been up there?

If you've had a moment anywhere close to that, you're in the right place. Advent is already so full. Christmas Eve is kind of the championship game of church hospitality, and your website, socials and email can either make that welcome easier or trip people up on the way in. So let's do a gentle, very doable Christmas Eve checkup. Not a redesign, I promise. Just enough to help the people already thinking about Christmas Eve find you, understand you, and think, oh, maybe we'll go there.

The 30-Second Christmas Eve Test

The question underneath everything in this post is simple: can someone who doesn't know us find what they need in under 30 seconds? If you can move the needle on that, you're doing really well.

It matters because Christmas brings people through the doors. For nearly half of Protestant churches (48%), Christmas Eve is the biggest event of the holiday season, according to Lifeway Research. And in a 2024 Lifeway survey, 56% of Americans said they'd be likely to attend church at Christmastime if someone they know invited them.

If you're reading this and thinking, cool, love that for organized people, but I clearly should have started in October, breathe. In my experience, a lot of people decide about Christmas Eve pretty late. Maybe a friend invites them. Maybe they search for a church near them. Maybe they see your Instagram post because someone shared it. Maybe they're sitting alone on the 23rd thinking, I kind of want to be in a room where people are singing on Christmas Eve. So even if you feel last-minute, they're right on time.

Before you touch any tools, picture one specific person you'd love to see on Christmas Eve. A neighbor. A Christmas-and-Easter family you love. A grandma who watches online every week. A stressed parent with three kids and zero margin. Everything gets easier when you're doing it for her, and not for "absolutely everybody."

Put Christmas Eve on Your Church Homepage

Whether people find you on Google, through a shared link or in an email, there's a good chance they end up on your website. If your building is the physical front door, your homepage is the digital front door. And if Christmas Eve is the big everybody's-invited moment, you want a giant sign, not a sticky note by the doorbell.

So grab your phone, pull up your church website, and don't scroll. Just look at what you can see without moving your thumb. Is Christmas Eve on that screen?

If someone who knows nothing about your church landed there, would they know in about three seconds that you're doing something for Christmas Eve, and when? If not, that's your first assignment. It doesn't have to be a splashy graphic. A banner, a box or a hero image works: Christmas Eve at [your church], with the date, the time, and one line about what to expect. Something like A candlelight service with carols, a short Christmas message, and a place for the whole family. All are welcome. That's enough.

Check it on your phone first. About half of church-website traffic comes from phones, according to Lifeway Research, and your own analytics may show even more.

Build a Simple Christmas Eve Service Page

Once someone clicks on that Christmas Eve banner, where do they land? Ideally it's a simple Christmas Eve page (or section) one click away that answers the questions rattling around in their head: When is it? How long is it? What should I wear? What about my kids? Is it formal? Can I watch online?

Think about how you'd answer a friend who's a little church-awkward if they texted you. Maybe something like: It's about an hour. You can absolutely wear jeans. We'll sing carols, there's a short message, and you can keep your kids with you or use the nursery. We light candles at the end, and it's really pretty.

That's basically what your Christmas Eve page needs to say. Make sure it sounds like a human wrote it.

Swap out church words. This is where all of us slide into insider language without noticing. Join us for our Christmas Eve candlelight service featuring the chancel choir and a homily from our senior pastor leaves a lot of people understanding about half of it. Try Our choir will lead us in Christmas carols, a short Christmas message, and a message from Pastor Dan. Same event, same theology, a lot more welcoming. Ask yourself: if my least churchy friend read this, would it feel written for them too?

Notice who's missing. One or two lines each can be a huge relief. (Only promise what's true at your church.)

Kids: Kids are welcome in the service. We'll have activity bags to keep little hands busy, plus a staffed nursery.
Accessibility: Our building is accessible, with reserved parking and accessible seating. If you need help when you arrive, our greeters will be glad to assist you.
Online: Prefer to join from home? We'll livestream the service at [time] on [platform].

Click around for fossils. Tap through your events page and any old Advent pages. Does anything still show an old year's Christmas Eve like it's current? Graphics with last year's dates? A Watch Online button that goes to last year's stream? You don't need to fix everything. Just hide or update what would send a newcomer the wrong way.

Give people a way to ask a question. A contact form that goes to a monitored inbox, or Questions? Email us at... right on the Christmas page. For a single mom deciding whether to bring her toddler, or someone who uses a wheelchair wondering about parking, that's a really important moment of connection.

For a year-round version of this checkup, see How to Refresh Your Church Website Without Rebuilding It.

Christmas Eve Social Media Posts for Your Church

I think of social media as the front yard and sidewalk conversations of your church: people walking by, waving, listening in, checking out the vibe. And here's the good news: you don't have to post 48 Advent reflections for socials to help this Christmas.

Make one shareable Christmas Eve post. If someone wanted to invite a friend by sharing something from your feed, could they? Is there a post that clearly says here's Christmas Eve, here's when and where, and you're invited? If not, that's your number one move. If you have a designer, let them have fun. If you don't, text on a simple background works, a photo from last year with clear text over it works even better, and a Canva template in your colors works great. (My Church Social Kit, $17, has reusable Canva templates that make this part easy.) The test: would I feel good sharing this from my personal account and saying, if you're looking for a place on Christmas Eve, come sit with me?

Pin it. Instagram lets you pin up to three posts to the top of your profile, and Facebook Pages show pinned posts in the Featured section. Get Christmas Eve to the top so nobody has to scroll past the fall festival and a sermon-quote carousel from July.

Give your bio a seasonal job. In the weeks before Christmas, add a line like Christmas Eve services at 5 and 10 p.m. Details below. Point your main link straight to your Christmas page, or move Christmas Eve to the top of your link-in-bio buttons.

Share a few behind-the-scenes moments. These lower the intimidation factor. Try a 10-second slow-motion video of candles going into their holders (your phone almost certainly has a slow-mo setting), captioned Getting ready to welcome you on Christmas Eve. Or a clip of the choir practicing "Silent Night," or kids' activity bags laid out on the chairs. These little glimpses say we were thinking about you before you got here, and we're so glad you're coming. (There's more on this rhythm in A Church Event Promotion Timeline That Actually Fills the Room.)

Equip your people to be digital hosts. Inviting someone can feel awkward, so hand people the words. In a caption or email, try: If you know someone who might need a place to land on Christmas Eve, share this post, or send them a message like: Hey, if you're looking for a place on Christmas Eve, my church is having a candlelight service at 5. I'd love for you to sit with me. Then personally ask two or three members who already comment and share online if they'd share it too.

Add a Google Business Profile event. Google's guidelines say places with varied schedules, including worship services, shouldn't list those as business hours. So skip the hours field and add an Event post with your Christmas Eve title, date and times.

Send One Warm Christmas Eve Email

If your church has any kind of email list (Mailchimp, Planning Center, Flodesk, even a spreadsheet), that's gold. These are people who already asked to hear from you. You don't need a 12-days-of-Advent email sequence. For most churches, one clear, warm Christmas Eve email is plenty, plus a short reminder if your people are used to hearing from you regularly.

First, find your list. I know that sounds basic, but I've sat with churches who realized they'd been emailing only their volunteer team for two years, because that list was called "All." If you're not sure, use the broadest list you've got. And if you don't have a list yet, no shame. Lean on your website, socials and any group texts or Facebook groups your people already use, and put an email list on your to-do list for the new year.

Then write to one person on that list who might be having a complicated December. Your email can be as simple as a short letter:

If the holidays feel a little complicated this year, you're not alone. On Christmas Eve, we're gathering at 5 p.m. for a candlelight service with carols and a short message about hope. Kids are welcome, and we'll have activity bags for them. Come as you are. You're invited whether you've been here a hundred times or you're walking in for the first time. Then add the link.

Aim for warm and easy to follow. A day or two before, you can send a three-sentence reminder: Just a quick reminder that our Christmas Eve service is at 5 p.m. If you're looking for a place to be this year, we'd love to have you, in person or online. Plus the details and links.

If you could only send one email this Advent, what would you want it to say to the most tired person on your list? Send that one. (For everyday email tips, see How to Write a Better Weekly Church Email.)

Your Christmas Eve Checklist, by How Much Time You Have

If you're stretched as thin as I suspect you are (and honestly, as thin as I usually am in Advent), you probably don't have a free day for all of this. So let's think in time pockets.

If you find another 30 minutes: create or clean up your simple Christmas Eve page, tweak your social bio, and draft and schedule your one Christmas Eve email.

If you get a luxurious hour and a half (even spread over a few days): add a behind-the-scenes post, schedule a short reminder email for the day before, and click around your site on your phone like a brand-new person. Even better, ask a friend to do it, because we all get a little blind to our own websites.

Pick the two or three small moves that make it easier for the people most likely to come to actually decide to come. You get to choose based on your season, your energy and what feels realistic.

Christmas Eve Communications Are Hospitality

When we hear website, social media and email, it's easy for our brains to jump straight to marketing, and for a lot of us, that word just shuts us down. So try on a different word: hospitality.

Up-to-date information is hospitality. Warm language that leaves nobody out is hospitality. Saying kids are welcome, or if you're joining online, we see you and we're so glad you're here: that's hospitality. You're setting the table. You're turning on the porch light and making sure the directions to the house are easy to follow. And then you're trusting the Spirit to do whatever the Spirit wants to do.

Here's the best part: anything you do this year plants seeds for next year. That Christmas Eve page? Next year you change the dates and tweak a couple of lines. That invitation email? Duplicate it next Advent and update the times. That what-to-expect language can become the start of a year-round New Here page. Build it once, and future you will be so grateful.

You're carrying services, sermons, pastoral care, your own family, and probably a few things nobody else even sees. So let good enough be good enough. These small digital tweaks can still make it easier for someone to cross a threshold, literal or spiritual, that they might not have crossed otherwise. You may never know their name, and it's still real.

If you'd like a second set of eyes on your homepage, my free Homepage Snapshot is a lovely place to start.

Frequently Asked Questions About Christmas Eve Church Communications

What should a church website include for Christmas Eve?

Put Christmas Eve on the homepage where it's visible on a phone without scrolling, with the date, time and a one-line description. Link to a simple Christmas Eve page that covers how long the service is, what to wear, what's available for kids, accessibility details, livestream information and how to ask a question.

How do you invite people to church on Christmas Eve?

Make one clear, shareable post with the time and place, pin it, and give your members simple wording they can send to a friend. A personal invitation matters: in a 2024 Lifeway Research survey, 56% of Americans said they'd be likely to attend church at Christmastime if someone they know invited them.

When should a church start promoting Christmas Eve services?

Starting earlier in Advent gives people more chances to see the invitation, but it's never too late for a simple checkup. Many people decide late, so a clear homepage banner, a pinned post and one warm email still help in the final week.

Should churches put Christmas Eve service times in Google Business Profile hours?

No. Google's guidelines say places with varied schedules, including worship services, shouldn't list them as business hours. Add a Google Business Profile Event post for Christmas Eve instead, and keep the service times on your website.

How many emails should a church send about Christmas Eve?

For most churches, one clear and warm Christmas Eve invitation is enough. If your people are used to regular emails, add a short reminder a day or two before the service.

Is Christmas Eve the most-attended church service of the year?

For most churches, Easter is the highest-attendance day. Christmas Eve is still a big one: Lifeway Research found that 48% of Protestant pastors say Christmas Eve is their largest event of the holiday season.

My question for you: who's the one person you're picturing on Christmas Eve, and what's the first thing you'll fix so they can find you?